Anglo-Israelism
Multitude of Nations
Anglo-Israelists attempt to equate Ephraim with Britain by looking to a promise given to Ephraim, which was his “seed shall become a multitude of nations.”[1] To Anglo-Israelists, this points to Britain because of its many “Colonies and Dependencies.”[2] The below is the section of text surrounding the biblical promise of “a multitude of nations:”
​
[1] Gen. 48:19.
[2] Glover, England, The Remnant of Judah and The Israel of Ephraim, pp. 140–141.​
“And when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him: and he held up his father’s hand, to remove it from Ephraim’s head unto Manasseh’s head. And Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father: for this is the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his head. And his father refused, and said, I know it, my son, I know it: he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great: but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations. And he blessed them that day, saying, In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh: and he set Ephraim before Manasseh.” [3]
[3] Gen. 48:17–20.
Some Anglo-Israelites rely on the mistranslation of the Hebrew word translated here into “multitude.” In Hebrew, this word means fullness.[4] Its root is defined as “to fill or be full of.”[5] The phrase, “multitude of nations” should be understood to mean Ephraim would fill nations. And this is what they have done. Although we call them Jews today, some of these Jews have a heritage with the tribes of Ephraim, which have populated non-Israelite nations. This promise, however, began sooner with Ephraim first filling the nation of Israel. The entire phrasing of “become a multitude of nations” is also the promise of many descendants that Abraham initially received.
[4] Strong, Strong’s New Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, melô’, 4393.
[5] Ibid., mâlê’, 4390.
